The real reason Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Jen Harley broke up

Jersey Shore and Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and his girlfriend, Jen Harley, embarked on a whirlwind romance in the summer of 2017 and welcomed their first child together in April 2018. He was reportedly "over the moon" about being a first-time dad to his baby girl, Ariana Sky. Harley shared her excitement over her new bundle of joy (her second child) with an adorable — albeit heavily filtered — picture of the baby and the Instagram caption: "I love this girl more than anything and just want to be the best mom I can be to her."

Unfortunately, the overwhelming happiness they both felt after the birth of their daughter didn't last long, and before we knew it, this pair's relationship was irretrievably broken. The events leading up to their split are more salacious than anything we've seen happen at the shore house, and we're about to break it all down for you. Here's the real reason Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Jen Harley broke up.

Old videos of her and an ex set him off

Less than a month after the birth of their daughter, Ortiz-Magro and Harley were involved in an explosive fight, and it all went down on Instagram (via Us Weekly).

The former couple took jabs at each other, starting with Ortiz-Magro posting a message to his Instagram Stories that said, "Note to self, can't turn a natural born H*E, into a HOUSEWIFE, if you find them in the gutter then leave them in the gutter." Yikes.

The reality TV star followed up his post with a public poll, in which he asked his fans, "If your significant other keeps sex videos of their ex, shouldn't they show enough respect to delete them, esp after being in a new relationship for over a year?" His followers were then given the opportunity to weigh in by voting either "yes" or "no" on his post.

Things escalated quickly, with the war of words evolving into a physical battle…

A scuffle caught on camera

As fans watched the couple's virtual tête-à-tête play out on social media, many assumed things would eventually blow over, particularly considering all the lovey-dovey social media snaps of the past. Nope. In fact, they only got more cray cray after Harley fired up her Instagram Live to capture one of their arguments in action.

In the footage, Ortiz-Magro can be seen holding a phone and showing what's presumed to be one of the alleged sex videos that Harley filmed with her ex. "Let's zoom in on that," he says as he attempts to get the video into the frame of Harley's live stream. The couple then appear to get into a physical altercation over her phone. An unknown woman attempts to pry the former couple away from each other, and seconds later, the stream ends.

After things cooled off, Ortiz-Magro issued this public apology (via Us Weekly): "I want to apologize for earlier to my fans, and especially [Harley]. I acted on my gut and not rationally. I should've never acted in such a [manner]. My deepest [apologies]."

But it was too little too late, and the damage had been done.

Did his alleged drug use tear them apart?

While Ortiz-Magro was busy attacking Harley's character via his Instagram Stories, she took to her social media platform (via Us Weekly) to respond with a shocking post of her own: "Can't turn a coke head into a father! Yeahhh buddy."

There isn't any proof to date that Ortiz-Magro is abusing the illicit drug, but in 2010, Radar Onlinereported that a Jersey Shore cast member was "indulging in cocaine during filming in Miami." Although the website did not reveal the identity of the cast member, that old story adds another layer of innuendo to Harley's allegation.

If he was allegedly using drugs during their relationship, that could certainly make things even more tense and volatile in their household. However, we have to chalk this theory up to nothing more than a baseless rumor at this time. Besides, Harley's claim has nothing on the words Ortiz-Magro used to express his real feelings toward his baby mama…

Sam & Ronnie forever

Getty Images

Fans of MTV'sJersey Shore certainly remember the love-fest between Ortiz-Magro and his co-star Sam "Sammi Sweetheart" Giancola on the reality TV series. Those two were immediately drawn to each other — at least, after her brief fling with Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino came to an end. What followed included years of ups and downs, makeups and breakups, and the words "Rahn, Stahp!" forever being ingrained in our minds forever.

Even though that relationship was toxic beyond belief, many fans were still sad when Ortiz-Magro told People magazine, "I ended up cheating, [Giancola] found out. I blew it. It's over."

When it came time to film Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, Giancola reportedly refused to appear in the series to avoid her ex, and also, because she has a new boyfriend who looks a lot like Ortiz-Magro, but that's a story for another day.

Even though Giancola wasn't fist-pumping with her castmates in the reboot series, she apparently wasn't too far from Ortiz-Magro's mind. A source told Us Weekly, "Ronnie still loves Sam … Everyone knows it."

While filming his confessional during the series (via Cosmopolitan), Ortiz-Magro says, "Every man wishes he could be with the love of his life. Being with someone for seven years and then you don't end up with [that] person? Yeah, it hurts."

Let's recap: Ortiz-Magro was in a new relationship with Harley, and they had a baby on the way, but he was still pining over his ex. No wonder this romance didn't last.

Did he cheat on her?

Getty Images

After Ortiz-Magro confessed that he cheated during his past relationship, viewers weren't too surprised that he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar during an episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation (via Us Weekly).

With his then-girlfriend, Harley, very much pregnant at the time, Ortiz-Magro was filmed flirting with women at a nightclub, and he even brought a few of them back to the pad. While chilling in a hot tub with the bevy of beautiful women, Ortiz-Magro reportedly told one of the ladies, "You're beautiful, you're gorgeous … you could get me into a lot of trouble." He later pulls one of the women into a bathroom and closes the door behind them. Castmate Pauly DelVecchio saves the day by knocking on the bathroom door and interrupting things before they get really hairy.

Later on the show, Ortiz-Magro tells DelVecchio and castmate Vinny Guadagnino, "It's hard having a kid on the way and being with someone you're not sure you should be with."

Although Ortiz-Magro later told Us Weekly that he absolutely did not cheat on Harley during that incident, a source told the website, "This is totally Ronnie's style. This is what he does. Look at what he did to Sam! … He never considered her feelings, cheated on her and lied to her face. The girls always forgive him and take him back."

Did she cheat too?

During their Instagram battle, the Jersey Shore star reportedly posted and deleted some text messages that painted Harley as an alleged cheater (via Us Weekly). In the text conversation, an unidentified person wrote to Ortiz-Magro, in part, "After [Harley] went to the pool the other day and she wouldn't answer your calls we were f***ing on the taco float in the back yard [sic], look at her pics on her phone. She took a bunch, that's why she didn't answer." A taco float? Is anyone else suddenly craving Mexican food, or is it just us? Anyway, we digress…

Before deleting the screenshot, Ortiz-Magro tagged Harley's Instagram account on the post and included the hashtag, "#ButI'mTheCheater."

If they were both allegedly cheating on each other, it's just another reason why this split is probably for the best. We just hope these two can bury the hatchet and attempt to be cordial for the sake of their adorable baby girl.

She wasn't 'the one'

During the aftermath of the did-he-or-didn't-he cheating scandal on the aforementioned episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, Ortiz-Magro had a heart-to-heart conversation with his co-star, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, about the status of his then-relationship with Harley, who was seven months pregnant at the time.

Polizzi seemed a bit perplexed and curious as to why Ortiz-Magro didn't plan to propose to his baby mama. "I thought you were in love. So she's not the one, then?" she asks him (via Us Weekly).

Ortiz Magro answers, "Probably not, right? … I had waited so long not to have kids so that I am married, in a happy relationship, not to just have a baby mama."

Polizzi continues to grill him, asking in true Snooki fashion: "Why can't you marry this b***h?" Before she can respond, she interjects with, "'Cause you f***ing love Sam." Yep, even Snooki thinks Ortiz-Magro still has the hots for his former flame and Jersey Shore co-star.

They were rocky 'for so long'

Getty Images

Those who know Jen Harley and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro personally don't seem too surprised that their relationship crashed and burned the way it did. According to someone close to the former couple, things between the two of them had been hanging by a thread for some time.

"They've been so rocky for so long — even before he went to film the show," an insider told Us Weekly. "Ronnie is melting down. People are trying to talk him off a ledge but he's going crazy."

Prior to the airing of the Jersey Shore: Family Vacation episode in which Ortiz-Magro got flirty with some randoms in a nightclub, Harley had allegedly already "kicked him out of his house," a source claimed. Another insider alleged it was Ortiz-Magro who told Harley to pack up and move out, claiming his request for her to kick rocks is what ultimately sparked their Instagram feud.

It doesn't really matter who left their family home and who stayed behind. All we know is that the reasons why these two broke up are piling up. But wait, it gets even worse…

He didn't trust her

Getty Images

Even though they were living together and had a baby on the way, Ortiz-Magro reportedly found it hard to trust Harley. He disclosed what their relationship was lacking during an episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation (via Cosmopolitan). "I think I just miss the feeling of security 'cause that's what [ex-girlfriend Sammi Giancola] gave. It's so f***ing hard to find and I think that's why I am the way I am," he shared on an episode.

Harley wasn't having it, of course, and decided to set the record straight via her Instagram Stories (via Us Weekly). "He wants to act fake on the show and like I'm some random he knocked up lol he was trying to get me pregnant," she reportedly said. "And then cheats on me while I'm preg on TV and then leaves me with a newborn baby lol baby daddy of the year award goes to @realronniemagro."

Old habits die hard

We aren't sure if Harley was a fan of the original Jersey Shore series, but if so, she would've had a front row seat to view Ortiz-Magro's antics, which mostly centered around his hard-partying ways, his displays of anger, and the alleged cheating that took place during his relationship with Giancola. Maybe it was his chiseled abs that persuaded Harley to give him a chance.

At this point, she's probably learned that old habits die hard. A source revealed to E! News, "She got into [a relationship with Ron] knowing there have been several incidents in the past. She really thought at first that she could change him."

The source also called the former couple's relationship a "roller coaster," claiming, "He messes up and then he's so apologetic and they get back together, then there's the baby so it's hard."

Does she have a history of abuse?

Radar Online dug up some salacious information about Jen Harley's past relationship and a domestic violence incident that occurred in 2013 — years before she met Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.

According to a police report, Harley was ticked off when she spotted her ex-husband, a guy by the name of Joshua Rodgers, enjoying some drinks with his roommate. She allegedly swung erratically and hit him in the face, drawing blood. She also reportedly threatened him with a baseball bat, but thankfully, she missed. Harley claimed self-defense in the incident, and the case was eventually dismissed.

So how does this all correlate to her relationship with Ronnie Ortiz-Magro? Well, the video of the two of them getting physical with each other shows that maybe they both have an issue with keeping their hands to themselves. Clearly, their hot-headed personalities didn't make for a safe and loving relationship.